The trek up to Mt 500 begins again
Diamondbacks News
[MLB] ‘It shouldn’t have come to that’: costly wild pitch sinks D-backs by Steve Gilbert
There was a lot that happened in the game, but the wild pitch will be the one moment that sticks with the D-backs for a while.
It had been a frustrating night for the D-backs up until the eighth inning. Kelly wasn’t pleased with his command as his struggles with it, along with some tough at-bats by the Cubs, inflated his pitch count and forced him to depart after the fifth having thrown 95.
Over the first seven innings, the D-backs hit nine balls that had an exit velocity of 95 mph or greater, which is the definition of a hard-hit ball. Of those nine balls, only one resulted in a hit.
[Inside the Diamondbacks] Bullpen Meltdown Sinks D-backs in Extra-Inning Loss to Cubs by Alex D’Agostino
The D-backs lost 3-2 to the Chicago Cubs at home tonight, in yet another one-run extra-inning affair. Facing the hard-throwing right-handed starter Ben Brown, the D-backs offense wasn’t able to muster more than one run through seven innings. Brown, who made just his second career major league start, set down the final 13 D-backs hitters he faced, and Arizona’s offense was silent for the near entirety of the contest.
It was not for lack of quality swings, as the D-backs struck a plethora of balls quite well, but they failed to find holes in Chicago’s stout defense. Arizona’s first run came from outfielder Jake McCarthy, who, on the heels of walks by Christian Walker and Gabriel Moreno, slapped a two-out RBI single to right center field.
[MLB] Busch homers in 5th consecutive game to tie Cubs record by Zach Buchanan
In his first at-bat of the game, Busch blasted an 0-2 cutter from Arizona starter Merrill Kelly 419 feet into the Chase Field pool area in right-center to give Chicago an early lead en route to a 3-2 victory in 11 innings over the Diamondbacks. The Cubs have scored just 14 runs over their last five games, seven of which have come on Busch’s homers.
“You hit a home run in five straight games, you take notice of it,” said Cubs manager Craig Counsell. “He’s off to a fabulous start as a Cub. We’re grateful to have him for sure.”
Baseball News
Old Friends
[MLBTR] White Sox, Tommy Pham Agree to Minor League Contract by Mark Polishuk
April 15: MLB.com’s Juan Toribio reports (on X) that the Sox and Pham have indeed reached an agreement. The veteran outfielder will be guaranteed a $3MM base salary for time spent in the majors and can earn an additional $1.5MM in performance bonuses. Pham would be able to request his release if he’s not called to the majors by April 25, tweets Rosenthal. There’s a $500K assignment bonus if Pham gets traded, per Rosenthal.
[MLBTR] Marlins Outright Matt Andriese by Anthony Franco
Marlins righty Matt Andriese cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Jacksonville, according to the MLB.com transaction log. He has the service time to decline the assignment in favor of free agency, although it isn’t clear if he’ll do so.
Andriese could well decide to stick with the organization after signing a minor league deal over the winter. The 34-year-old got back to the majors this spring for the first time since 2021. Miami called upon Andriese for a trio of relief outings, during which he tossed five innings of three-run ball. He fanned eight without issuing a walk but surrendered a pair of home runs. Miami designated him for assignment on Saturday when they recalled Calvin Faucher to get a fresh arm in the bullpen.
[MLBTR] 2024-2025 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings by Steve Adams
10. Jordan Montgomery, LHP, Diamondbacks
As the old adage goes, if at first you don’t succeed — hire a new agent and try again. Montgomery languished in free agency all winter, never landing the six- or seven-year contract he was seeking. He took a one-year, $25MM deal with the D-backs that’ll afford him a player option at $20-25MM basically just for staying healthy. The contract wasn’t finalized before Opening Day, meaning Montgomery can’t receive a qualifying offer this winter. Barring a major injury, he’ll likely decline that player option and return to the market.
Montgomery, 31, has made at least 30 starts in each of the past three seasons. In that time, he’s pitched 524 1/3 innings of 3.48 ERA ball with a 22.5% strikeout rate, a 6.2% walk rate, a 44.5% ground-ball rate and just 1.00 HR/9. His 2023 campaign was the finest of his career, featuring a personal-best 188 2/3 innings of 3.20 ERA ball, plus another 31 innings of 2.90 ERA ball in the postseason — a strong performance that helped push the Rangers to their first-ever World Series title.
Though he doesn’t miss bats at an elite level, Montgomery is better than average in just about every meaningful category for starting pitchers and has been a workhorse since his 2020 return from Tommy John surgery. We at MLBTR erred in thinking a six-year deal was attainable heading into the 2023-24 offseason. Another typical Montgomery season could put him in position for a strong four-year or perhaps a five-year deal at a lighter AAV than we predicted last offseason. He should be able to top teammate Eduardo Rodriguez’s four-year, $80MM contract — and a deal in the $100-110MM range over five years doesn’t feel out of reach if Monty continues at his recent trajectory.
Spencer’s Spicy Supplement: Also listed, but not given any evaluation are Paul Goldschmidt and Christian Walker.
Around the Horn
[MLBTR] Marlins Option Max Meyer by Steve Adams
It’s a surprising move, given the Marlins’ struggles and Meyer’s excellence through his first three turns. The former University of Minnesota standout, No. 3 overall draft pick and top prospect has been outstanding in his first big league action since returning from 2022’s Tommy John surgery. In 17 innings, Meyer touts a 2.12 ERA; he’s surrendered just four runs on 11 hits and three walks with 14 punchouts and a 48.9% ground-ball rate.
Spencer’s Spicy Supplement: “Surprising” move only if one assumes Miami is attempting to compete this season, which personally, I think they’ve made obvious they are not: forcing a top GM to vacate her position by demoting her, losing the wild card race in the first half of April, and making zero moves of note in the offseason. This opportunity to regain an injured arm and option another quality arm will result in the “accidental” gain of a year of control for Miami over Meyer… Poor guy made the Opening Day roster and will still likely end up losing out on a free agency year. I hope arbitration (and maybe a trade) are kind to him.
[MLB] ‘You always feel good when No. 27 is up there’: Trout belts go-ahead 2-run HR by Rhett Bollinger
Trout entered Monday’s series opener against the Rays with the highest career OPS in the stadium’s history with a minimum of 100 plate appearances and came through in a big way yet again. Trout, batting second for the first time this year, crushed a go-ahead two-run blast in the eighth inning to give the Angels the lead in a 7-3 win over Tampa Bay. It came a day after he lamented not coming through in the ninth inning on Sunday against the Red Sox, but this time he delivered when it counted.
“I felt really good,” Trout said. “I think in Boston I was just a little off. Just off in the sense that one pitch I’d feel really good and then not. It’s just about recognizing pitches. That’s when I feel right.”
Spencer’s Spicy Supplement: You read that right! Trout has done something amazing to pad his Hall of Fame career and the Angels WON! When was the last time that happened? Before Ohtani came to the US? [sarcasm font isn’t available in actual articles, so please understand this is sarcasm; I feel confident at some point in the last 7 seasons this has happened before]
[FanGraphs] An Annual Tradition: The Astros Are Off to a Slow Start by Jay Jaffe
The Astros have dominated the American League West in recent years, winning three straight division titles and six out of the past seven, and getting at least as far as the American League Championship in each of those years. Their quest to extend that run is off to a rocky start, however. Despite taking two out of three from the Rangers this weekend in Houston, they own the league’s second-worst record thus far at 6-11, ahead of only the White Sox (2-13).
Even with the series win over the Rangers — whom they’ve now beaten in four out of seven games while going 2-8 against their other opponents — the Astros are off to their worst start since 2016, when they went 5-12. Notably, that season was the last one in which they missed the playoffs. Their 4-11 record through Friday was their worst through 15 games since 2013, the year they lost a franchise-record 111 games. That said, this is their fifth straight season below .500 at this juncture:
[FanGraphs] Player’s View: Tales From the Minor Leagues by David Laurila
Life in the minor leagues differs greatly from life in the majors, often leaving those who climb the affiliated ladder with a multitude of stories. While some of those experiences are amusing in hindsight, many of them also underscore why minor leaguers fought so hard to unionize in an effort to improve their pay and working conditions. From torturous bus rides to cheap motels and ballpark mishaps, life before players make the big leagues can leave you laughing – and shaking your head. Here is a collection of a few such stories, courtesy of nine people in the game well versed in life on the farm.
Miscellaneous
DirecTV Bird BallPark with familiar face
Spencer’s Spicy Supplement: An excellent example of leaning into an unique event. It’s too bad they couldn’t get a Gallen cameo.